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Echo Mountain Resort is planning to open as a public ski area on Dec. 10 for the upcoming 2015-16 ski season, according to owner Nora Pykkonen.

The 226-acre ski area on Squaw Pass Road has been operating privately as a venue for the Front Range Ski Club since 2012. Pykkonen Capital LLC bought the ski area in August 2012 for $1.53 million, according to county records.

From arts and crafts to music and belly dancing, the annual Summerfest at Buchanan Park last weekend offered visual and auditory enjoyment.

Kids had fun at an activity center designed for them while adults looked at creations of more than 100 artists exhibiting their works at the 35th annual event, a fund-raiser for Center for the Arts Evergreen.

Several area bands played throughout the afternoon and evening, including Johnny T., Open Space and Colorado Floyd. The Evergreen Players and the Children’s Chorale also performed at the event.

Evergreen landscape architect Dianne Schade of Made in the Schade has been selected for the playground improvement project at Kittredge Park, which is scheduled to begin in early September.

The plan that Schade designed includes sliding boards, swings and rotating rides for 2- to 12-year-old youngsters. A rock climber and other creative elements such as a raindrop activity panel are included in her design. The new equipment will meet ADA standards, Schade noted in her proposal.

“Right now, you’re standing on a success story,” said Jessica Hibbert, seasonal intern for the Mountain Area Land Trust.

Leading hikers into the Beaver Brook Watershed on a sunny Saturday morning, Hibbert explained that this protected property was at one time at high risk for development. However, MALT and other agencies worked to preserve 5,700 acres on Squaw Pass Road, which protects a critical watershed and provides recreational opportunities, she said.

The group trying to recall Jeffco’s three conservative school board members has collected the signatures it needs to move forward with a recall election, a spokeswoman said.

Jeffco United for Action over the weekend stopped gathering signatures to recall John Newkirk, Ken Witt and Julie Williams, according to spokeswoman Lynea Hansen. The group announced Tuesday afternoon that it had collected more than 110,000 signatures.

The Jeffco Sheriff’s Office has reprimanded six jail deputies after an investigation into the March death of Jennifer Lobato, who died in her cell after waiting hours in vain for medical attention.

Sheriff's spokeswoman Jacki Kelley said the six deputies were given written reprimands for their actions or lack of action. Lobato died March 2, a day after being booked into the jail on a shoplifting charge.

The genteel game of croquet was the highlight of the evening on Saturday at the second annual Victorian lawn party at the Humphrey History Park and Museum.

Participants — some dressed in white, reminiscent of lawn parties of old — played rounds of croquet in a friendly tournament to determine a champion. The players were supportive and helped each other out in the game, which can be cutthroat.